Tatang and the Teachers of Kalis Ilustrisimo By Steven K. Dowd

Transcription

1

2 Tatang and the Teachers of Kalis Ilustrisimo By Steven K. Dowd This story will have 3 parts. The first part will tell you about Tatang as a teacher and his philosophy as a swordsman. The second part will be about his two students who are now teachers of his style, and the third part will show you in details the system of Kalis Ilustrisimo. Antonio Ilustrisimo, Tatang as he was popularly known was a warrior in the strictest sense of the word. He was a street fighter and his manner of instruction was situational. It was not configured in a step-wise manner from basic movements. His philosophy was that there was nothing basic and nothing advanced. All of what he taught was a quintessential extract of battle and were all equal in efficiency. Fight situations dictated the techniques to be used. Tatang would ask you to attack him and he would execute a technique. If you wanted him to repeat that technique, you would have to execute the attack exactly as it was first executed (same angle distance, speed, etc.), because if the attack differed in any way, Tatang would use a modification or different technique in defending and countering. However, if the attack was executed exactly the same as before, just maybe he would repeat the same technique. For as said before, aspect-distance-speed-angle, were never exactly the same to Tatang and he would use a different technique for each. While Tatang was often seen teaching in Luneta, it does not end there. Dedicated student would go to Tatang s house for further instruction. This is where Tatang would explain the deeper meaning of his system-philosophy of combat, presence of mind in battles, correct body positioning, blade/kalis awareness and orientation, and the use of the eye s peripheral view. The list is endless because of the wealth of knowledge and experience the old man has. Oftentimes questions were asked why the Ilustrisimo style has no standard measurement of sticks. The reason behind is because the nature of combat does not allow favorable situation at all times. The Ilustrisimo practitioner is thus trained to aptly handle various weapons of various lengths and sizes depending on what is available. Tatang was very involved with the importance of timing. His major focus was on timing. The concept of maintaining specific distances from the opponent such as long, medium, short, and trankada (locking techniques executed at very close range) had a lot to do with improving timing along with angles of attack. Tatang had no rankings or levels. You were either a student or shared your experience with neophytes as an instructor. He never offered information. It was up to the student to ask the right question. Tatang believed that techniques were more important than the execution. For if the technique is bad, it requires a very skilled person to execute it and overcome an opponent, whereas, an efficient technique even if executed poorly will work to protect ones self. Maestro Antonio Tony Diego In his early youth, Tony Diego used to observe the training method of the siblings of Islaw Romo, one of the best and famous Eskrimador in Pasil, Cebu. He watched with interest as they train with the rest of Islaw Romo s fighters. Because he lived not far away, Tony Diego s playmates were the grandchildren of the revered eskrimador, who

3 even in their early years were adept in the art of the sword. Their favorite game then is to imitate the fighting techniques of Islaw Romo as he teaches untiringly the other masters, such as Pedring Romo, Carlito Romo, Casio Labuntog, Carling Cabasa, Timor Maranga, Manoy Biro, Atty. Toribio Rodel and Roque Banahaw Abellar, to name a few. In high school at Cebu Institute of Technology, Tony Diego s interest in eskrima continued. When Tony moved to Manila, he trained Balintawak style arnis with the Eskrimadors from Cebu while he was working at Piers and at the same time training with Berting Presas in Quiapo, a district of Manila. Soon after, he met Antonio Tatang Ilustrisimo in 1974, whose simple but ferocious style greatly impressed him. He then requested Tatang to teach him. At first Tatang would not teach Tony, explaining that it was only for his use alone. He said he remained undefeated because others do not know his style. Tony, far from being deterred, relentlessly pestered Tatang with attention and gifts until the old man finally agreed to teach him the ways of the blade. Compared with Tatang, Tony teaches almost the same way with the exception that he has structured his instruction procedures into sets of techniques which make learning easier. This comes from having seen it from the student s point of view. Tony has insisted on maintaining the purity of the system as Tatang taught it. The only change is the way the Ilustrisimo system is now taught in a structured sense, which Tatang did not. As a teacher of eskrima, Tony has earned the highest reputation as a person and as an instructor. He fully believes that a student who learns the Ilustrisimo system should give credit where credit is due, and not to learn and then claim it or its derivatives as a personal innovation or declare it as coming from an imagined family tradition. To illustrate: Roy Harris was taught by Tony and Romy. When Mr. Harris was showing the Ilustrisimo techniques to Dan Inosanto, these were recognized as the same techniques which Master Tony Diego with senior student Tom Dy Tang Regino Ilustrisimo, Tatang s youngest uncle, had tried to teach Mr. Inosanto. This means that the transmission of the system had gone unchanged from Regino s generation to Tatang s to Tony and Romy s and to the present generation of students. Tony does not really charge for his teaching, as he teaches friends, friends of friends, and sons of friends. If a student pays, he counts it as an added blessing. His only request to his student is to be respectful, mindful and diligent in training.

4 Romeo Romy Macapagal Romy Macapagal commenced training with Tatang in He saw the movements not as stick movements but as sword movements, which was confirmed by Tatang. Romy then made steel play-swords at which Tatang was transformed from lackadaisical movements with the stick into pure blade virtuosity. Asking Tatang if the movements had any names, Tatang then said that there were specific names for specific movements. Romy and Tony then cataloged and classified these techniques into the present format. Romy remembers practicing with Tatang at Luneta Park. He would practice for a couple of hours with the group and then he and Tony would go to Tatang s house to practice for the rest of the day, with a break for lunch. If time permitted or when the mood was on to continue practice, Romy would have his driver pick up his children from school, bring them home while he and Tony would continue to practice until late at night. Many times they ended up sleeping at Tatang s house. This went on for 4 or 5 years. With the combined effort of Tony Diego and Romy Macapagal, the techniques with their respective names have been classified, and as such are easier to learn and remember. The System of Kalis Ilustrisimo Part 1 The fighting concept of an Ilustrisimo student is to move at an angle to the side of the person and to limit the opponent s attacking and countering options. The body does not crouch. There is no deep foundation as in a Karate-type stance. Many other arnis styles have deep stances, because of the need for stability in slippery, muddy conditions as in rice fields or mountain trails. They have found a similarity in deep Karate stances and adapted its ritualized approach to training. Tatang s style could be compared to European saber fencing, with its emphasis on economy of movement, the necessity for mobility, and near mathematical efficiency. In the beginning of training, the student will Instructor Tom Dy Tang learn a pattern of movements from the Elastico and Demonstrates foundation Retirada which are for mid-to-long range fighting. From there, the student moves to Combate General, composed of about 22 techniques which are divided into sets. A lot of books have been written about arnis, its form, stances and the basic striking techniques, the attack and defense form. In this issue we will tackle the same, in a more simplified approach. We start all forms with a natural stance, feet together, the right hand holding the stick in the upright position, and the left hand holding the right wrist. Fighting Stance is when we move the left foot backwards, the left hand is held shoulder height at the side to parry attacks, and the right foot very slightly bended forward. The elbow of the right hand holding the stick in the upwards position should be close to the side brushing the side with its move.

5 It is imperative that you hold the stick up to the edge to be able to execute a forceful strike and counter strikes. Leaving a few inches from the edge of the stick is effective in close range encounter. Grip should not be too tight to prevent the stick from dropping resulting from a forceful attack. Master Tony Diego and students at his Binondo gym.